Aponte, Selmquist & Castrogivanni Win on Day Two of NEC's

W. LONG BRANCH, NJ (May 5, 2013) - The Sacred Heart women's track and field team took home four first place finishes at the 2013 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships over the weekend as the Pioneers finished third in the 12 team field.

SHU senior Alyssa Selmquist (Northford, CT) followed up her NEC record-breaking win in the 10,000 meters on Saturday by winning the gold in the 5,000 meters on Sunday. Selmquist came home with the top spot after running a season-best mark of 16:56.33, easily meeting the ECAC championship standard.

Fellow junior Brianna Castrogivanni (Commack, NY) opened Sunday's events the same way Selmquist did on Saturday, setting a new Northeast Conference record. Castrogivanni took the gold in the 3,000 meter steeplechase on Sunday, earning her a third NEC Title after winning the 3,000 and 5,000 at the indoor championship. Castrogivanni clocked in at 10:35.47, breaking the record of 10:58.29 set by Quinnipiac's Morgan Roche.

Junior Lindsay Aponte (West Islip, NY) successfully defended her NEC indoor shot put title by winning on day twoJoining Aponte in the points in the shot put was freshman Adaora Nwodili (Coram, NY) who finished sixth overall with a throw of 42'2.75", her best throw of the spring season.

Senior Michelle Navarro (Piscataway, NJ) took home third place in the steeplechase, easily posting her best time of the spring at 10:48.36. Her time met the ECAC Championship qualifying standard.

Junior Seanne Denny (Randolph, NJ) finished fifth in the 100 meter dash with a clocking of 12.48 seconds. In the 400 meters, junior Katelyn Racanelli (Riverside, CT) took home a fourth place finish with a time of 56.02 seconds.

On Saturday, Selmquist broke a record that stood since 2007's title meet in winning an event she led on the NEC performance list entering the weekend. The senior clocked in with a time of 36:05.40 to break the previous record of 36:19.44, set by Taryn Gibson of Saint Francis U in 2007. Selmquist finished second at in this event at last spring's league meet.

In the field events, Sara Isaacson (Aberdeen, NJ) took fourth in the pole vault with her best vault of the outdoor season, clearing a height of 10'6.75". Sophomore Dylan Baker (Petersham, MA) earned points for SHU in the long jump, finishing eighth with a leap of 17'2.00".

The Monmouth Hawks won their fifth-straight Northeast Conference title on Sunday, piling up 218 total points over the 21 scored events to best the field. Saint Francis U took second with 86 points, edging out the Pioneers in third with 83 total points.

Next up for the Pioneer track and field teams is the New England and ECAC Championships being held next weekend.